Summer has finally arrived, and that means millions of Americans are gearing up for vacation fun. According to AAA, more than one-third of Americans have family vacation plans this year. Top on the list are road trips, trips to national parks and visits to theme parks. As a Sales Advisor, you can capitalize on the popularity of summer vacations by showing shoppers how to make the products you’re sampling part of their adventure.
Open the conversation with shoppers by learning how they are spending their summer. Are they planning beach days, camping or mini getaways or simply on the go with busy summer activities? Being out and about is a great way to help you highlight the attributes of some of the products you’re sampling.
Once you learn what shoppers’ plans are, you can offer tailored ideas for incorporating the product you’re sampling into their vacations. For example, suggest ways they can take your product along as a road trip snack or an affordable alternative to theme park concession stands. Granola bars, crackers, cookies, popcorn and nuts are natural fits. But you can also get creative. For example, suggest making breakfast bars with the cereal or marshmallows you’re sampling, or rolling up easy snack wraps with the tortillas, lunch meat or cheese on your cart.
For shoppers planning to camp or rent a vacation home, suggest ways to create simple yet tasty meals that can be made without all of the luxuries of a well-stocked home kitchen. For example, suggest using the spice rub, marinade or fruit juice on your cart to create tasty foil dinners (wrapping vegetables and a protein in an aluminum foil and cooking over the fire or grill). Or point out how the heat-and-serve side dish or frozen breakfast item you’re sampling will make meal prep and cleanup a snap—not to mention helping shoppers save big versus eating out.